According to a joint statement from the Port, SPI, the Bloomberg administration and the states of New York and New Jersey, the plan entails restoring the east side of the WTC site to at least street level, completing SPI's Tower 4 by 2013 and phasing in the developer's Towers 2 and 3 over time. All other projects, including One World Trade Center, the 9/11 Memorial, the WTC Transportation Hub and other public infrastructure, will continue moving forward. The statement says the accord between the developer and the Port strikes "an important balance between the redevelopment goals, financial risks and rewards between the public and private sector."

About 60% of Tower 4, also known as 150 Greenwich St. and already under construction, is being pre-leased to the Port and city agencies. Under the proposed development plan, the Port would provide a master lease for Tower 4, thus supporting the issuance of SPI's Liberty Bonds to partly finance the 64-story property's construction costs. SPI would reimburse any payments made by the Port under the master lease.

The plan calls for the immediate construction of Tower 3's five-story transit and retail podium. Building the office tower would follow, provided SPI raises $300 million of private unsupported equity, pre-leases 400,000 of the tower's planned 2.1 million square feet and secures private financing for the remaining cost of the project.